As election day draws closer, pro-life groups have been sounding the alarm about a proposed constitutional amendment to the state ballot that would grant Montanans nearly unlimited access to induced abortion (the direct and intentional killing of preborn human beings).
The constitutional initiative known as CI-128 has been heavily funded by pro-abortion groups such as abortion giant Planned Parenthood and the ACLU. The national ACLU and ACLU of Montana have planned to spend the most they have ever spent on Montana — $1.3 million — on abortion-supporting campaigns they hope will reach the state’s voters.
The pro-life Women Speak Out PAC, a partner of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, has advanced pro-life messaging with a $2 million ad campaign designed at combating abortion on the ballot everywhere in Montana. It is part of a $92 million nationwide campaign to get the pro-life message out in states where abortion is on the ballot this year.
If passed, the initiative would allow for abortions past viability if a “treating healthcare professional determines it is medically indicated.” Yet induced abortion (which has the intended goal of ensuring the death of the preborn child) is not medically necessary, and the amendment does not even determine what kind of healthcare professional can determine this, realistically, at any stage of pregnancy. Additionally, because the language says the government cannot “burden” the express right to an abortion, it also strips away protections like abortion facility safety measures, which have been argued to be “undue burdens.” This was the same language as was used in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a Supreme Court case overturned in 2022 by the Dobbs Supreme Court decision.
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The language in the amendment also opens up questions about minor children and others who may not be competent to make their own medical decisions. This comes after a court battle in the state that ultimately ruled that parental consent laws are unconstitutional because minors supposedly have a “right to control” their “reproductive decisions,” according to the court.
“It’s touted as protecting women’s health and protecting women’s rights,” said Derek Oestreicher of the Montana Family Foundation, according to KTVH. “The fact of the matter is this constitutional amendment is not a protection for women. It actually strips away regulations that are designed to protect women’s health.”
Despite this, abortion advocates claim the extreme, wide-reaching law is necessary because of the possibility the voters could elect pro-life judges in the future who might attempt to enact pro-life protections.
“We’ve long been able to count on the courts here in Montana to uphold the right to access abortion as part of our right to privacy,” said president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana Martha Fuller, who helped bring the measure before the voters, according to KTVH. “We know that courts can change over time — and as we saw with the U.S. Supreme Court, while we long thought precedent was settled law, there is always a possibility that future courts might not see things the same way as courts have traditionally seen them in the state.”
Local bishops of the major Catholic dioceses in the state issued a letter speaking out against CI-128, pointing out the extreme nature of the proposed amendment and calling for a recognition of the gift of life.
“As Catholics, we treasure life as a precious gift from God and recognize our sacred duty to nurture and protect every human life from the moment of conception through natural death,” their letter reads on the Montana Catholic Conference website. “Created in the image of God with a dignity not of our own making, each person is a unique and unrepeatable masterpiece of God’s creation. This recognition of the infinite dignity enjoyed by all persons informs our understanding of the basic rights and protections to which all human beings are entitled.”
The bishops go on to say that the proposed language would protect gruesome D&E abortions, and abortions on babies old enough to feel pain in the womb. They also raised concerns similar to other pro-life organizations and constitutional experts that the language would allow for the exploitation of minors, and by extension, victims of human trafficking.
“Trusting in God, we invite all Montanans to pray for the defeat of this Constitutional Initiative and stand in defense of women, children and all those threatened by this extreme proposal.”
